Plant Based Diet; 3 definitions, so what the hell is it?

introduction

When I started my channel it was only going to be about My NMN Experiment, however a recent video of mine has attracted many comments about my lipid scores and my diet, with many people telling me to go on a Plant Based diet and referencing David Sinclair as having ‘seen the light’ and moved onto a Plant Based Diet; ergo so should I.

Also, comments urging me to watch Forks over Knives and Game Changers, which I did as well as the rebuttal video.

I started to look into all of this, but the question that I couldn’t get a definitive answer to was what exactly is a plant-based diet?

my diet

Firstly, let me say, I am in no way trying to criticize any dietary based community or throw shade on a particular lifestyle. I just want the facts.  I just want a clear answer on what a Plant Based diet is (plant). I really thought my diet was plant based, I wake at around 6 am and then only drink black coffee/water until noon.  At the time of making the video I broke my fast at Noon, with:

• Fat bombs: extra virgin coconut oil, organic peanut butter, cinnamon powder, coconut flakes, cocoa powder, vanilla essence (all plants)
• Afternoon Snack: Nuts with Himalayan rock salt, or a berry shake: frozen raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, MCT oil, oatmeal and 1 cup of whipping cream (diary, so not made from plants)
• Dinner 2 cups of vegetables, cauliflower, broccoli and/or Brussel sprouts and Meat: chicken breast/homemade burger/steak or salmon (again not plants)

the definitions

So, the reason I said in my video that my diet up until dinner was vegetarian was because of the following:

Below are the definitions of a vegetarian and a vegan by the separate societies as listed by healthline.com:

• According to the Vegetarian Society, a vegetarian is someone who does not eat any meat, poultry, game, fish, shellfish or by-products of animal slaughter
• Veganism is currently defined by the Vegan Society as a way of living that attempts to exclude all forms of animal exploitation and cruelty as much as possible

So, in the rest of this article I am only going to talk about my diet, yes I agree there are issues with animal exploitation, and what constitutes exploitation, but today I only want to deal with diet.

types of vegetarian

I was surprised to find there is more than one type of vegetarian and that a vegan is classed as a type of vegetarian. Vegetarian diets contain various levels of fruits, vegetables, grains, pulses, nuts and seeds. The inclusion of dairy and eggs depends on the type of diet you follow.

The most common types of vegetarians (there are more) include:

• Lacto-ovo vegetarians: Vegetarians who avoid all animal flesh, but do consume dairy and egg products.
• Lacto vegetarians: Vegetarians who avoid animal flesh and eggs, but do consume dairy products.
• Ovo vegetarians: Vegetarians who avoid all animal products except eggs.
• Vegans: Vegetarians who avoid all animal and animal-derived products. 

what exactly is plant based?

I started to read comments on the channel where people described their version of a Plant Based diet, there were quite a few. So, I looked up the definition of plant based:

• A plant-based diet is a diet consisting mostly or entirely of foods derived from plants, including vegetables, grains, nuts, seeds, legumes and fruits, and with few or no animal products.

A Plant Based diet is not necessarily vegetarian. Wikipedia

Forks over Knives.com say a whole-food, plant-based diet is based on the following principles:

‘Whole food describes natural foods that are not heavily processed (what is heavily processed?). That means whole, unrefined, or ‘minimally’ refined ingredients…what is minimally refined? Is there only heavily refined and minimally refined, is there no medium refined?’

Plant-based means food that comes from plants and doesn’t include animal ingredients such as meat, milk, eggs or honey.

some confusion

So, here Forks over Knives contradicts Wikipedia by saying it doesn’t include meat, but when you look at their definition, it is the same as a vegan as defined by healthline.com. 

So is Forks over Knives definition of plant based, just Vegan with a vague ‘Whole Food Kicker’ thrown in in an attempt at separation or branding?

Is this just rebranding veganism by Forks over Knives? The only difference is to say you must now not eat highly processed vegetables, so NO tinned carrots…is that minimally refined?

even more definitions

Then I came across this organisation Plant Based Foods.org, they offer the first and only plant based food certification, but under who’s authority?

Look at their aims; We aim to:

• Engage in education, public relations, and media outreach to increase visibility for plant-based foods and boost consumer acceptance;
• Eliminate policies and practices that place plant-based meats, milks, eggs, and butters at an economic disadvantage, such as labeling restrictions;
• Change the debate on important public policy issues such as the dietary guidelines

Are they talking about meat as most people do (from animals) or are they only talking about like say the meat of say a coconut?

They list milks, eggs, and butters, but this contradicts Forks over Knives who say ‘Plant-based means food that comes from plants and doesn’t include animal ingredients such as meat, milk, eggs or honey.’ There seems to be some contradiction and more confusion?

david sinclair vegan?

It is true David Sinclair has said that he is moving more to a plant-based diet, I think some have taken this as he is going 100% vegan, well that’s the impression I got from a lot of the comments in my blood test video.

This is what he actually said to Rich Roll, it is only a two minute clip (add clip)

my take away from the clip

• Like me he believes that a diet ‘based’ on plants doesn’t mean ‘only’ plants, if that were the case it would be some type of vegetarian diet
• A little bit of meat is fine, so not Plant Based ‘i.e. vegetarian’ as some tried to lead me to believe
• The Sardinian and Okinawan diet is the best for humans
• Don’t overload with amino acids; coming from meat
• Our body’s modes are grow or protect
• Eating like a vegetarian tells your body times are not good, so protect don’t build
• This last point did strike a chord with me, when I compare strict vegetarians or vegans (Greger/Otonawan photo) to those who eat some meat

my definitions

It’s so easy to stand on the sidelines ‘throw shade’ and pull apart other people’s definitions of Whole Food and Plant Based, so here is mine:

‘Whole food’ describes any food that has not been processed, any food that we eat, meat, fish, plants, 

What is processed: a series of mechanical or chemical operations on (something) in order to change or preserve it.

my levels of processed

• Apple as your god intended, nothing added nothing taken away 
• Smoothie, nothing added nothing taken away, just one mechanical process 
• Apple juice (home juiced), lots taken away, just the juice is left 
• Apple Juice (from the store), lots taken away and lots added 
• Ingredients pic, lot there on the right that your god didn’t put in the apple on the left 

my plant based diet definition

This is my definition of Plant Based, it is very much the same as David Sinclair and the Okinawan Diet

‘A diet based on plants (more than 50% of calories), but not consisting solely of plants’.

A diet consisting solely of plants is a vegan and all the Blue Zone diets have seen have some meat.

conclusion

The term ‘Plant-based’ diet is relatively new, it was not defined accurately before it was first mentioned, and as a result has had every, doctor, dietician, nutritionist and every other ‘interested party’ making up their own definition and criticizing the definitions of others.

Some say that ‘plant-based’ is a tactical rebranding of the term vegan, as some vegan extremist may have attracted negative publicity.

With the vegan/vegetarian/health food space now becoming ever more saturated with pople and groups wanting to ‘make their mark’, it I unlikely that a definition, that can be agreed on by all, will ever be reached.

It will be interesting to see, what those who don’t eat meat, will come up with next in an effort to convince meat eaters that they are making bad choices.   

Unfortunately, I had to close comments on the Blog because of spammers, more than fifty a day! If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments section of this video.